Kellie Pickler: 'I'm excited for everyone to hear new album'

Kellie Pickler has expressed excitement over her forthcoming album 100 Proof.

The former American Idol contestant released her third studio LP today (January 24), revealing that the record signifies a real return to her country roots and the artists that inspired her while growing up.

"I'm so excited for everyone to hear it. I have never been so infatuated with making a record like I have been with this one," Pickler explained in a new interview with Parade.

"It's pretty country. I love Tammy Wynette and Loretta Lynn and Dolly Parton, they are big reasons why I fell in love with country music, so I kind of pay tribute to them a little."

Pickler also spoke about her deeply personal track 'Mother's Day', which she co-wrote with songwriter husband Kyle Jacobs.

"Kyle and I wrote that on Mother's Day, actually. It was kind of like putting everything in my heart on paper. I wrote that song for me, and it was never written to be on the record," she recalled.

"I had no intentions of anyone even hearing it. Kyle actually convinced me to sing it for very close songwriter friends of ours and they said I had to put it on the record. It found its place and I'm glad I put it on there."

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Listen to Kellie Pickler's track '100 Proof' below: